BOSTON – Win or lose these NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics did the one thing no other opponent could to the Los Angeles this postseason.

They’ve stripped away that extra layer of toughness that appeared to have grown since their 2008 Finals smackdown of the Lakers and exposed the same old tender group.

Anything the Lakers do on their home floor in the next few days should be expected. Teams always play better on their home floor.

But Ron Artest was supposed to add some muscle to the Lakers’ lineup. Pau Gasol was supposed to be over his random bouts of pout. The Lakers weren’t going to get pushed around anymore. And then in Game 5 Sunday night it all came flooding back.

– Rajon Rondo shoved Artest for knocking down Kevin Garnett and Artest didn’t even fake a response, though he did fake as if he got punched by one of the Klitschko brothers.

“It was pretty self-explanatory, really,” said Rondo, who gladly accepted his technical foul. “I felt that Artest pushed Kevin and it wasn’t just a regular foul. We weren’t going anywhere, so in Kevin’s defense I pushed him back.”

– Derek Fisher tried to bark back and forth with Ray Allen, but he just spent most of the night getting bullied by all of the Celtics on both ends of the floor.

“You can never really back down,” Allen said. “You have to push forward … every opportunity you can.”

— And Gasol, oh Gasol, Tony Allen came from 12-feet away to pin one of his layup attempts on the backboard and Garnett and Kendrick Perkins both closed in on him, one of them batted another shot attempt off the glass and Gasol just stood and watched as the play went the other way.

“Until I see the edit,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, “I can’t make a comment on what happened out there, whether he was tentative or whether he had good defensive plays made against him.”

Let me help you out coach, it was an even mix of both. But the tone was already set by both Rondo and Allen.

And these weren’t even the Celtics’ purported tough guys (Perkins and Garnett) doing most of the damage.

Most disappointing is the Lakers’ response to all those gestures of aggression. Passive resistance just doesn’t work this time of year. The Lakers whined to the officials a little bit and swung a lot of arms in protest, but there wasn’t any attempt to get up and shove someone back. Artest acted as if Rondo hit him so hard that he almost knocked him off his feet, a stunt Rondo laughed off afterwards.

“I’m not that strong,” Rondo said. “He did (flop) a little bit. He’s probably the strongest guy on the court in this series. I’ve been lifting a little bit, but other than that, I didn’t push him that hard.”

I’m not suggesting the Lakers should have turned the game into some cheap-shot free-for-all, but there comes a time when a team has to stand up to a more physically aggressive foe or risk getting punked in a game of epic proportions.

“I don’t like that stuff. Let’s just play,” Rivers said. “It was physical. There was a lot of pushing going on, but we kept getting the technicals. You know, and I understand you want to take up for your teammates, and that is good, but strength sometimes is walking away, and I tell our guys that all the time. If you want to show toughness, toughness is walking away from all the other stuff.”

I hear you coach. And you are doing a masterful job in these Finals, pushing all the right buttons. But we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. Because I think the Celtics’ depth and toughness is what has the Lakers on the brink of elimination.

“It’s those small battles that go on in the game sometimes that seem like they’re necessary,” Ray Allen said. “You saw me and Fisher jawing at each other. I know Rondo got a tech for pushing Artest … you make somebody think you’re coming, that you’re going to trap them and that’s what we did early and you attack often … you know as the series progresses, there’s something that has to give.”

307 Comments

22 POINTS!!! devastating for C’s mindset on the next game….but not as devastating as to the epic damage of egos brought upon those silly celtic clowns here talkin all about the GREATNESS in their team and all that crap about Kobe and the lakers….if there’s anything great i’ve seen today..that’s the lead LA had on the final buzzer…22pts…now that’s great!!!

hahaha! that’s right! where are you now bostonbostonboston!? and REALLY!?, how bout that, your team got punk’d!? now maybe u understand my point! u boston guys talk too much for your team! now uv got what you deserve! homeboy. :3

all these stupid boston fans (not all, just some of the wise asses who keeps yapping here) who think us laker fans are cry babies? wow look at your TRUTH himself..he’s the league’s numero uno cry baby..damn he shuda won an oscar award for that drama he had years ago…and yes blaming the refs is not good sportsmanship at all…but when these lousy calls are happening time after time after time, it is really getting into my nerves!!! we can accept a defeat by sheer team effort from the oponent…but not a momentum killing lousy call!!! you, boston fans (not all) should know more! since you seem like you’re really smart the way you keep sending replies here to us laker fans!!! if you are really smart then deep down you know there are really stupid and dumb calls here and there…yes to both teams..but the momentum killers are the ones called on LA…fisher flops here and there yes..but not called on crucial moments the way your TRUTH serum does..that pierce cry baby… flopping on kobe…after fouling him on a rebound..and oh..that ray allen airball…some rocket scientist boston fan somehow formulated a trigonmetrical explanation on that…explaining trajectories and angles and all that…!! you’re blind as a mole!!! it didn’t hit the rim! PERIOD. no mathematical equations required. check your eyesight….i even heard a kid commented “well if that hit the rim at least we could’ve seen some movement on the net..or would have hit the backboard wide….”..guess what…the kid makes more sense than you!!! us laker fans cry babies? check your mirrors…you just sound so tough coz you are on the advantage…what’s the biggest lead you’ve got? a best team effort against a sloppy team play? 6,7,8 pts…? is that all you’ve got to brag? go ahead celebrate prematurely…and even if you do steal in from LA..im sure your conscience would wake you up in your sleep and tell ya..your team mentality is just hiding the fact that you don’t have real superstars as big as kobe…you are just using them as your shield….all you have are has beens who never really made it to premiere stardom…save rondo..he has a future…but pierce that braggin actor with a big mouth oh come on! you all hate kobe because you’re all GREEN! GREEN WITH ENVY! whether LA wins this series or not…ya don’t have black mamba! using lousy comparisons between mj and kobe to bring down no. 24? why? it’s not like we’re rooting kobe to beat jordan’s history? it won’t be. they’re different. league’s different now. try this for size. but at least they have strong similarites. not like “the truth” compared to mamba. now that’s pathetic. im so tired of this redundant team chants here and there…you guys are just lucky! that’s all.lucky. even donkey and shrek making a scene in game 4? lucky. now stop bragging and just watch….LA haters…you are GREEN with envy…now do i sound senseless? well…i just picked up where you left off…smart guys!!!! back at ya!!!

It’s amazing how puffed up the chests of the Celtics fans are right now. Be proud of what your team has done but show some sportsmanship in your comments. Many of these posts talk about the Lakers flopping which Ray Allen and Paul Pierce have down pat. Let’s just enjoy this series for what it is, 2 teams going at it. Would I love to see my favorite team win, absolutely but let’s not forget we are fans of the game of basketball and enough with the trash talk. All of us fans are just that, fans and not NBA players. So let’s appreciate the 2 best basketball franchises in NBA history and keep the nastiness out of it.

All these Boston fans must be forgetting, it was DOC Cry Like Rivers, who went to the league and Commish with film and then they win 2 in a row. It’s not the quantity of the calls or freethrows, it’s the timing of the last few mins when LA has momentum and would put the games away. It is Boston who went and poilshed the #%^& of the league and commish..So who went whining publicly and to the league? Not the Lakers, only the clovers, so I have said it from day one Lakers in 7 only if we play the Clovers…..

sheesh. that is the point! can’t you see!? i hate those boston fans who talk too much of how great their team is. sheesh! its really hard to explain to someone who does not know how to read and understand.

Boston has gotten lucky the ref’s are calling games horrible during the finals. Kobe won’t let that finish them off though. He is going to go off tonight and let Boston know that this is his home! Lakers in 7, no doubt! Kobe is MVP!!! MVP!!! MVP!!!

again,for you to understand the point slowbro, its how the boston fans talk too much bout their team when come to think of it, was nothing years ago without garnet and allen. it is not that hard to understand. i think you need to exercise your brains a little. ain’t functioning too well. :3

Boston with pierce alone has done nothing. they are just playing good now because they’ve got garnet and allen and the rest of the guys that desperately needs to win championship before they retire! Its funny how boston fans talk big when the only thing they have done is to get the star players of other teams. tssss. boston too desperate. :3

Do you have a point? They did a good job of surrounding Pierce with quality players. What are you talking about? They all won their rings in 2008 too so it isn’t a last attempt for a championship. There are a lot of awful posts in this forum but you should really think before you actually make such a pointless one.

and what about lakers with kobe alone? what have they done? they had to get gasol as well didnt they? and latest was they took artest who they think will help them alot, so does these mean that lakers are desperate too? boy thats what managements and teams do, they will do anything to win.

I’m a huge Lakers fan but I’m also a basketball realist. Artest was supposed to add toughness, he hasn’t, Gasol was supposed have learned his lessons, he hasn’t. Celtics are doing a repeat of 1998 I’m sad to say. If the Celtics do go on to win this it also lessens the “championship” we won last year. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am right now. I can only imagine they agony Jerry West is going through right now.

Oh man,, I can’t believe how weak the lakers are playing right now.. It’s like a scene from the wizard of oz, Pau and Ron need to get there guts, Bynum needs a knee and Kobe needs goddamn help from anybody.. And where the hell is Odom? We need the Odom from the Phoenix series not this Kardashian wearing his jersey.. LAKERS need to get hungry fast..

Hats off to the Celtics, They’ve been better as a team this series.. I just hope that changes in the next game..

after reading these posts, I am literally a dumber person.celtic fans make me laugh so hard it hurts. i dont think 90% of you have picked up a basketball in your life. no “toughness” no “teamwork”. it was one game, game 5, and we played bad. that can happen to any great team throughout history, and you guys won by 7 points. celtics may win 6, and my hat is off to them if they do, but i have never seen dumber / more arrogant fans in my life. you wonder why athletes don’t want to address the media? its because sports writers / fans talk like they are the ones playing on the court, and most of the time have very little insight, and just repeat them selves. and as for the officiating in this series, it is just awful. on both sides it is just horribly inconsistent. this was said by the announcer when the play where the 24 shot clock ran out, “they can’t review it, its not in the rules” so it wasn’t reviewed, its the worst thing i have ever heard in professional sports. the review machine is literally 10 feet away, YOU can review it. what there doing is a mockery to the game, and an insult to the players participating in the game. all you can ask for from the officials is consistency, thats it. if they make bad calls, it better be on both sides, especially in a long series, in the FINALS. the nba is really making itself look bad right now, compared to the other popular sports in america.

2 games have been played in LA
3 games have been played in Boston
Boston leads the series 3-2.
The rest of the series is in LA…i dont care what u boston fans think, but the home court does help and lakers will have to step up and player thougher and like real men, but they will win in 7!

and BOSTONBOSTONBOSTON…ur an idiot. u have stated a few times ‘its best the celtics are a BETTER team’…what? because they are winning the series 3-2 so far? lakers are still the world champions, lakers had a better season record…AND THE LAKERS WILL TAKE IT ALL IN 7

As a neutral in all this I find some of the above points quite comical. Comments bias towards there own team rather than being honest about how the series has actually evolved.

Granted Boston has a 3-2 series lead where was the ‘GREAT TEAM’ (as mentioned numerous times above) in game 1 when the Lakers destroyed them. They were also found wanting in Game 3 when Fisher decided he was taking over. Boston has really only played well as a team in 1 game – Game 5. As with the Lakers in Game 3 they only won Game 2 because of Ray Allen although they did up there game after Game 1 but to be honest they were never going to be any worse!

Game 4 is the difference in this series for me. Both teams have a good win each along with a great individual performance win each (Allen and Fisher). Game 4 in my opinion changed when Bynum went off injured. Boston fans would find it hard to argue that for 3 quarters the Lakers were they better team and looked as if they were going to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Taking nothing away from the Boston bench because they were awesome, I don’t believe they would have got all the space in the paint with Bynum on the floor, and thats where they did all the damage.

Hasn’t been the best finals I have ever watched but from a neutral point I really hope it goes to a Game 7 because then maybe we will finally get to watch a game where both teams leave it all out on the floor on the same night!

All the Lakers don’t want are happening. Champions if they get their act together. If C’s win tomorrow, then there is no difference between the top 3 teams this year. They’re all boring-one-man-shows the are no shows.

Huge Lakers fan…But all you Celtics fans going out there calling the Lakers Fakers need to get a life, they are in the NBA, where are you? Sitting at home watching them from your couch wishing you could be them…Secondly, I admit Boston has played amazing defense and the Lakers are in a Dilemma. The Lakers have fallen asleep and like Kobe said “they don’t deserve to be champions” because champions don’t play like the Lakers, they play like the Celtics are playing. This series isn’t over yet there’s still lots of basketball to play and I won’t say he wins it because it’s still up for grabs and it’s the NBA where anything can happen plus the refs control the games and can make it end how they want it to end.

Looks like Boston Celtics are on their way to their next title. Forget that undefeated streak Jackson naaaaa ..They just dont care what Kobe and how many he scores. . LA cant defeat Celtics in this series This brass balls Celtic team are going to celebrate at Staples … Kobe is gonna cry out there.. And… Artest be careful , remember when Ben Wallace almost killed you with that same foul you gave to K. G. . Rasheed Wallace is gonna do it this time , he is gonna shave you monkey ass…BEAT LA…BEAT LA….BEAT LA …..KiIl LA….KiIl LA….KiIl LA….KiIl LA….KiIl LA….KiIl LA….KiIl LA….

1. It is a fact that the Celtics are tougher right now than the Lakers. I would rather see Artest in Rondo’s face after a shove than a flop. I do not mean tough as in aggressive, but tough as in show some pride. For game 6, I would like to see a couple of in your face dunks. Gasol has to moves to free himself up in the post -> instead of finishing with a finger roll, he should just dunk it. A couple of blocks are also welcome and a little bit of intimidation is not misplaced there.
2. There is a lot of complaining on the refs and in my opinion it is justifiable. The main problem is inconsistency on both ends during the course of the series. Charges are not called the same way; wing players are constantly held on the perimeter; moving screens are not called the same way, … the list goes on and on. I know this is a problem for both the Celitcs and Lakers, although the home-team gets the majority of the calls in their favour.

Some respectable sports writer doesn’t seem to understand what they are saying. They commentated on what they saw and not on what they studied specially Sekou Smith. It is Celtics home court you moron, do you expect Celtics to just allow the Lakers to go 2-1 in their home court? They fought tooth and nail because they don’t want to go to Staple Center in 2-3. Sekou Smith should have refrained from premature analysis, remember game 6 and 7 will be played at Staple Center. It won’t happen in LA why?
1. Lakers is 7-1 in their home court;
2. 6th and 7th games will be played in LA;
3. Lakers do not want to be the 3rd top seeded team to be axed by the Celtics;
4. Lakers do not want to get humiliated in their home turf;
5. How about the revenge in 2008?

Get your recording devices ready fans, because tonight’s game 6 is going to greatly surpass the Kings Lakers game 6 of 2002 as the worst officiated basketball game of all time.

Garnett and Pierce both will be on the bench in foul trouble before the first quarter ends, and Boston will not take its first foul shot until the middle of the third quarter, Rondo will foul out early in the forth quarter, and Sheed will be ejected.

Kobe will play the entire game, score 42 points and have only 1 assist and 1 foul, all the other Lakers who were held to single digit scoring in game 5, will be taking charges, flopping, and shooting free throws as the commentators praise them for how they’re putting it all on the line.

Perkins will get a technical foul making him ineligible for Game 7, which Stern’s Lakers will win in runaway fashion as all Boston’s starters sit on the bench again saddled by technical and personal fouls……..

The Lakers are the poster children for David Stern’s NBA and he now has the stage set for them to be the Kings of the world again.

A gritty, no glamour blue collar team like Boston, even though they are clearly the better team, are not as marketable as the Lakers are when it comes to NBA memorabilia, therefore the refs, at Sterns behest, will see to it that the Lakers win both games…

After all the NBA is business and just like everything else in this country, it’s all about the money……
Just think how big a seller the DVD of Lakers 2010 is going to be…………

is an old story guys……kobe play solo score a lot but miss a lot too, the others teamate don’t get involve in the mach, because i belive they feel kobe doesn’t trust them…result celtics, with a true team spirit, is 3 – 2. Now if lakers go on like this and don’t play the 6 in LA like a real team they will put an end to their hopes to win the title….I hope i’m wrong…I hope they show me they are a though team…..I don’t want to see only kobe show and then lose the mach..

The trend is not in favour of a laker turnaround at all… their scores thru 5 games are as follows….102, 94, 91,89 and 86… The lakers have managed to score fewer and fewer points as the series has progressed. Now why has this happened? The refs? Boston has slowly tightened the screws to cut off the scoring options? what is it? Unless LA can adjust to the Boston defense we will see Boston Celebrating at staples.centre. Someone other than Kobe needs to do something but even here all i am hearing is kobe will do this and kobe will do that. No one man is going to beat Boston, what are the other 4 guys on the court there for? The earlier Kobe goes off scoring, the less of an impact he will be in the fourth. He is human and will be tired by the fourth and then you got no closer. What we are seeing is the difference between the Regular Season and the Post-Season. I luv it…

Celtics all day, if we play like game 5 and lakers play the same D then dis should b a gud win 4 da C’s. One thing i have 2 say is da Celtics didnt even play there best potential being because they committed way 2 many turnovers which gave LA life, being the reason yall only lost by 6.Mann also if LA wont 2 play betta D it all starts with da pressure on our RONDOOO

Kobe zoning off of him is making our half court set plays dat much easier 2 run, with RONDO vision,play making, and pin point past to knock down shooters (Pierce,Allen,KG) we break down iight D of da lakers an get quality shots make or miss. if a win game 6 it will b between RONDO or Pierce 4 MVP 2 close 2 call right now. So LA betta step there game up a few levels to have a chance 2 beat us C’s. but i hope dey keep on playin there 1 on 5 bball haha

Fearless forecast : lakers win in Game 7 by more that 20 points (more than 20 points).
Although Game 6 definitely tough, I know and believe they can still manage the game and win.
There defense and offense will definitely explode in their home court and I’m all set to see it jejejeje.

BostonBostonBoston, I am a fellow boston fan and you’re just being belligerent. PLEASE leave the idiocy to the dumbest fans in the league. To the LA fans, calls are being missed both ways. Complaining to the refs is a sign of a weak team. LA is number 4 In the league for foul differentials in their favor. Stop complaining about the refs.

Chill guys! Relax! Basketball is simple. Both teams are great, Both teams deserve the championship. Why are there so much hate spreading between opposing fans? Definitely at the end of the series a team will emerge victorious and be crowned the next champion. I’m die hard Laker fan, if the Celtics take it, then I ‘ll glady take my hat off and congratulate them (including you die hard celtic fans) for beating my team. Its that simple. I do hope celtic fans will also feel and do the same way, if my team beat yours. Basketball is challenging, physical at times and strainous game, funny though, its not only for the players but for the fans as well. But what we fail to realize that basketball is a very fun game as well. So to all fans out there both Lakers and Celtic – try not to strain yourselves too much, lets just watch Game 6, root for your teams and JUST HAVE FUN! That is how for me basketball becomes simple and fun. GO LAKERS GO! WIN OR LOSE, JUST GO OUT THERE, POUR YOUR HEARTS, STICK OUT YOUR TONGUES AND ALL, RELAX AND HAVE FUN! YOU CAN DO IT! BEAT CELTICS!!! RAH! RAH! RAH! LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE))))))))))))

Bad refereeing caused la the game.First,the ray allen shot didn’t even touched the rim and the referees did not even bother to review the footage.Secondly, when kobe got the rebound late into the game and paul pierce took it,there was clearly contact which would be a foul in any referess eyes.
I feel the lakers really need to play tough as a team and do not over rely on kobe to really clinch this series that should originally belong to them cause they are by far the better team as seen throughout the whole playoffs.

A shot clock violation is not a reviewable play. It is in the rule book, it wasn’t a decision they just made on the court. As an LA fan do you not see how many calls Bryant gets away with? You need to take a step back and look at the calls in an unbiased manner. Every team gets their fair share of beneficial and awful calls. The Lakers got a ton of calls through the first three rounds and no Lakers fans were saying anything. The Celtics are a MUCH more physical team than any of the west teams and now when there is some body contact, the only reason Lakers are losing is because of the refs. The Lakers team gets a high amount of calls in their favor and probably got spoiled and now when a few calls don’t go their way they start yelling and complaining. Where are the techs for complaining about calls? Lakers are lucky that the refs aren’t T’ing them up everytime they cry and yell for missed calls.

I hate the refs and we can all sit back and say wow that was a horrible call but good luck trying to see some of these fouls at game speed. They have a very difficult job.

lakers was given opportunity in artest two missed free throw..that shows artest was an inexperience players coz he has no championship experience…..if he had made those two, that would change the complexion of the game 5.

I have a Kobe Bryant poster on my wall, but I’m not a Lakers fan. I’m actually rooting for the Celtics even though they were suposed to lose the series. I know L.A. fans don’t like hearing about Shaq, but when he left L.A. I stopped being a Lakers fan. Because to me, it became all about Bryant and him wanting to win a championship without O’Neal. Problem is, Shaq was the only other “strong personality” on the team who stand up to Kobe and back it up with his game. Gasol, Bynum, Odom, Artest…no one on this present team can say anything to him. Although Shaq and Kobe didn’t get along because each of their personalities were too strong to co-exist, they needed each other. They both had this “killer instinct” drive to win. No one with that same killer instinct came in to replace O’Neal and now Bryant knows he needs a copy of himself (like Shaq) to win championships consistently. Yes, L.A. beat Orlando last year, but remember, even then, it took Orlando seven games to beat a Boston team that was injured. We were that close to seeeing a Boston/L.A. final three years in a row. Finally, I don’t think L.A. is as good as people thought. They had a tough time with Oklahoma City and Phoenix, winning very close games. The Thunder and the Suns couldn’t take that extra step to challenge the Lakers more. But now, L.A. faces the Celtics (again) and Boston’s chemistry between team members is hurting them. Every night somebody else on Boston has a signature game. On top of that, last night’s out-of-bounds play points to the fact that the big name players on Boston have learned to put their egos in check. Doesn’t matter who scored…so you have KG passing the ball inbounds to Pierce…then Pierce to Rondo…the play was ridiculous. Tony Allen’s block on Pau Gasol’s lay-up…another ridiculous play. Big Baby Davis is a lot shorter than Odom, but he seems to drive passed him and put the ball in the net. Inconceivable. In closing, I’m not saying the Lakers need O’Neal back…but they do have to find a “strong-willed” personality like his to balance out Kobe Bryant. If Kobe makes a mistake, which teammate can actually go in his face yelling about it? No one. That’s the problem. With Boston, Garnett can yell at Pierce, Pierce can yell at Allen, Allen can yell at both of them, even Rondo can yell at them all now. No one is above anyone else. Last night, it looked like Kobe was above all his teammates and it’s been like that for how many seasons…since O’Neal left?

AND hilarity ensues…has anyone looked at the box score? The VISITING Fakers got twice as many FTs as the Celtics and scored 8 more points from them than the Celtics and the Celtics still whipped their whiny butts. Come on, Fakers fans! Aren’t you dying to blame the refs for this abysmal buttkicking? It couldn’t be the utter slapdown the Celtics gave yer pansy team, can it? Well, it was, cause the Celtics got only one more rebound than the Fakers, and with all that going for them AND Kobe’s 38, you’d think the Fakers would’ve put up a fight. Hey Phil, who dat losin in the 4th quarter, huh? Who dat? Why it’s none other than the Phony Genius and his Fakers team. Pretenders all the way. And you all better get used to it. There’s more where that came from. Celtics in 6, same as it ever was. ITS INCREDIBLE HOW WE SO CALLED HARDCOE FANS THAT BELIEVE ONE SUPERSTAR CAN BEAT A TEAM. BASICLY A 1 ON 5. ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD

Does anyone see the FOUL in the video? This is Boston basketball at is best. Take the phyical play out of Boston and they are unable to win games. Did the Lakers organization send videos to the league office or was this a Boston coach that did this?

I don’t care what Sekou Smiths says, what Jeff Van Gundy says, what Mark Jackson says. All the sudden, the media turned on Lakers, everyone became a Celtic fan because they are at home, and post up that killer face try to scare people. They got bunch of clowns cheer them up down there of course they look tougher. Just wait till they come to LA, I think Lakers and the fans are already had enough of all these bullshiet from Boston fans and the media, they gonna be mean, trust me. Ready to get slaughtered.

I cant blame the Laker fans for believing that lakers can still win in 7, I mean that’s what fans do, believe in thier team. That is why I believe too, CELTS in 6! and I am very confident in that. I know the C’s have the ability, celtics Defense is the key, lakers not having an easy series making the points against the C’s. Mostly in the playoffs, the Lakers are over 100 points when they are winning, but not this time, and the C’s are at the advantage when scores are below 100, and 4 out of the 5 games are below 100, we even had a chance in game 3. That means even when we struggle in offense, we still have a shot at winning and that’s what is just happening. Ofcourse there is also the fact that more of our players are poised and have the heart to win it all. Hands down to Kobe, I can say he is the only laker by far that their fans can be proud of, he is a real great and dedicated player. There is still alot that can happen, the series is not over until one team get to the no.4 win mark, but as a Celtic fan, i know we will win in 6. Laker fans will say LALs in 7, and i cant blame them. We all just have to wait and see. and please dont blame it on the refs, alot of very bad calls are called on the celts too. Its the players who have to step up and show, bad calls are part of the game.

I am a mad Boston fan and I want them to win but the series is definitely not over. From what I have seen in the Finals Boston are the better team but the Lakers have Kobe. If the 1 or 2 other Lakers play well that will go a big way in the Lakers winning. Whatever happens in Game 6 or if needed Game 7 it will be a close game.

I just hope the refs don’t ruin it. The last 2 games have been a bit better with the refs letting it go a bit more.

BTW the Lakers played well in Game 1 if they can match that effort they will be hard to beat.

All you boston fans have already given the celts the trophy without them actually winning it which make you all sound ignorant. Truth is the series is not over with boston having the edge. Now its not impossible for a team to be down 2-3 and win the championship. Lakers have a shot, but at this point they control there own destiny. How they come out early in game 6 will decide the game for them. All the celts fans just run their mouths about there players, but none of them have given credit to doc rivers. Remember Boston struggled against L.A badly earlier in the series, but doc made his adjustments and it has paid off nicely. We have yet to see phil make the adjustments for the lakers. So far it has been more of the same for L.A but I have lots of confidence in phil. He didn’t win those 10 rings out of luck. Remember it doesn’t matter how good the players are, if they don’t have a great coaching they are still going to lose everytime. So don’t raise the banner just yet celts fans its not over just yet doc has made his adjustments now lets see what phil does.

I’m a Lakers fan for life. That is the only team I root for. But I’ll be honest, if the Lakers don’t man up and play, then they WILL lose this series in 6 if not 7. I believe LA blew game 4 and could have possibly won game 5 as well. But at the end of the day, the Celtics still won those games. I honestly believe the Celtics will pull it off simply because of how the Lakers have been playing the past 2 games; poor defense, poor offense, poor everything. But it’s still a 3-2 series and last time I checked, a team still has to win 4. So with that said, it’s not over until one of those teams wins 4 games. Who’s that team? I hope it’s the Lakers but it could very possibly be the Boston Celtics. Either way, I’m still LA for life baby. We’ll find out tomorrow or Thursday who will be crowned as the 2010 NBA champs.

Lakers may not be looking good but look at the bright side Lakers still have home court in there favor. The Lakers are down 3-2 thats the way it is supposed to be because of the home court situation. Every time the Lakers lose its because on the stat sheet it shows that the Lakers have got out rebounded. Every time the Lakers win its because they out rebound the Boston Celtics. If the Lakers play good defense and rebound well they will beat Boston in game 6. And in game 7 anything can happen. Lakers have the biggest advantade in the closing minutes because of Kobe Bryant! Lets go LAKERS!

I think even Laker fans can agree with me when I say the Lakers are a bit of are a bit of the joke with the exception of Kobe Bryant and Bynum. It was shown clearly in game 5.

Artest was labeled as tough before this series but him falling like he was hit by a bus was hilarious. Paul Pierce completely dominated him as well.

Fisher should start worrying about playing basketball instead of flailing his arms every single play. I knew he was a flopper, but he is taking it to another level this series. It is sad looking at a grown man do what he does. He’s one of the veterans on the floor and to see him either on the ground or with his arms in the air half of the game is absolutely hilarious. He looks like a little boy out on the court! I can’t stop laughing when I see this guy play.

Gasol showed us that he is softer than a marshmellow. Everyone loved him when KG was having a bad beginning to the series, but when KG stepped it up, he showed everyone that Gasol is still that same softie from the 08 series. When things aren’t going his way, he complains and whines to the officials. And on top of that, he falls asleep on defense.

I’ll probably get ripped down for this admitting I’m a Brit watching the best sport in the world, but I honestly thought that the flopping done by Artest and Fisher was on a level of Cristiano Ronaldo and other pansies and pathetic football players in the modern game. Faking fouls is not sportsmanlike or is it “playing smart”. Be men, play proper defence and maybe they’ll have a chance of stopping the C’s.

toughness??/ no the celtics are not tough, they are dirty. they give cheap shots to the lakers and yet there are no fouls called, I agree with big c i think the refs are working on a different game, they just stopped refereeing this finals, the lakers are called fould on what seem to be soft contacts, yet on the other side people are falling, kobe is swarmed and yet no fouls called!!!

celtics fans are funny.The refs have been pathetic in this series including Laker wins.They needa get new refs for the playoffs cos there giving calls that are pathetic for both teams.As for Pierce the was just a fluke game he was deperate for a big game n got it that aint gonna happened in L.A.Ray ray lost his touch from the outside.Rondo can get his for all i care.Kg and Perkins are just there for defense.For Shrek and donkey? They only shined in game 4 just a fluke also.Jordan farmar can penetrate through that weak interior defense of the celtics but he needs more time on the floor.Lakers needa start thinking about that game 1 win and stop playing soft.Stop pouting and play the damn game.Gasol needs to man up and help out kobe.Artest needs to get his offense back.Lamar needs to snap out of Kardashian world and play like a champion.Defense wins championships.Keep attacking the inside and good things will happen for the Lakeshow.Lakers repeat still.Boston goes home empty handed. :)

“Laker Fan says: The refs threw away the game. Lakers should have won. First, Ray Allen’s shot at the end of his shot clock didn’t touch the rim, so it should have been Laker ball.”

That’s what I call an excuse. When u throw or shoot a ball UPWARD at an angle other than 90 degrees, it will always follow the equation of motions so the ball will go in the projectile trajectory of an upside down parabola. In one of the camera replays, it showed that the ball clearly changed path as it’s going down, if it didn’t touch anything why did it change path? Your reasoning is not sound…You might as well say Ray Allen has the ability to defy the Laws of Physics.

The truth is the Celtics (in game 5) simply outplayed the Lakers on both ends as a TEAM. Kobe was amazing, but no one helped him.

I hate both the Lakers and the Celtics. May the best team win, but please stop it with the stupid excuses.

No complaining about the refs. Nobody complains when thier team wins. People want all of the calls to go their way. Everybody thinks that the refs are cheating for the other team but when their team wins they don’t want the fans from the other team saying that the refs handed them the victory. Everybody wants their milk and cookies but then throws a tantrum when they don’t get it. Stop wanting all of the calls to go your way only. Everybody wants all of the fouls to go against the other team but doesn’t want the ref to call not one foul on their team. Well it doesn’t work that way.

That game Pau really looked like his former soft self. He still isn’t a “tough” big man. Probably never will be. He’s more of a finesse guy, that’s just his style. He’s from Europe, after all. Some people just play a certain way, sometimes you shouldn’t ask someone to be someone else, just let them play their game and know the pros and cons and adjust your gameplan accordingly. As the series moves on, the Garnett-Gasol matchup is shifting from Gasol’s favor to Garnett’s. He just manhandled him in Game 5. If that continues in game 6, expect Boston to put up banner 18.

I don’t know why everyone is complaining about PP snatching the ball from Kobe, when Kobe did the same thing to Tony Allen in the second quarter. That’s why the refs didn’t call it. You can’t allow someone to take to the ball from someone else and just bc they got it taken away call a foul. Not gonna happen. I have a feeling that the refs are going to try and get the Celtics starters in foul trouble. But you know what its not even going to matter bc the Celts have already dealt with it and they know what to expect, and just like in game 2 they dealt with it and won. Celts in 6

It’s just great to finally see Pau Gasol get demolished. After a shaky start from Garnett, the Big Ticket came back with an amazing night and an amazing block for Tony Allen (that’s right, a 6’4 guy crushed a 7 footer’s shot). It’s not just how the Celtics have outmuscled the Lakers, it’s also about their mentality right now. The Celtics are in Championship mode right now. It’s awesome to see Nate Robinson and Glen Davis just pumping up the team and crowd. Meanwhile, the Laker’s have…I guess no one getting the team excited. I think it’s so much fun to watch Allen and Fisher getting in each other’s face. I totally agree with Sekou on how the Celtic’s physical dominance is the reason for pushing the Laker’s to the brink of elimination. There was some hype on how if Kobe wins this championship, he must be compared to Michael Jordan, but at this rate, there will be no comparison. The Celtics will win if they can eliminate either Gasol or Kobe. Once again, once Gasol was being butchered, the Laker’s lost. Though Kobe was on fire, he himself was not enough to finish off the Celtics.

Comparison in the series as a whole:
Fisher vs. Rondo: Rondo CELTICS
Bynum vs. Perkins: Perkins CELTICS
Kobe vs. Allen: Kobe, but Allen did great last night LAKERS
Artest vs. Pierce: Pierce, he’s an animal, Ron Ron has nothing on him CELTICS
Gasol vs. Garnett: Gasol, overall, his performance has been outstanding but he was horrible last night and Garnett was finally a presence in the paint LAKERS

Bench: Celtics: With Big Baby doing incredible and Allen with Robinson doing their part, the Celtics’ bench is far more superior. Laker’s bench is not living up to what it should be (blame on Odom). CELTICS

Laker fans really think this series is being thrown to boston by the refs? what would the league, or the refs have to gain from this? the lakers have flopped there way to so many finals in the past i think the refs are at last catchin on to the fact that fisher, kobe, and gasol, all flail there arms everytime they shoot, foul or not. They comlain EVERY TIME they miss and dont get a foul called, or when they are called for a foul. Gasol has went over the backs on every team he played out west, never drawing a personal foul untill game 5 against boston, he has gotten away with countless push offs going for the offensive board, as well has his nasty elbow he never gets called for the offensive foul. The refs are missing calls its true, on BOTH ENDS, that is why boston has had at least a major player in foul trouble in 4 of 5 games. Im glad boston is a popular enough team for the refs to at least be calling it equal, unlike when LA got to flop-walk all over Uah, and phoenix. go celts in 6!!!!

You crybaby laker fans will find any excuse. The lakers were outplayed tonight, pure and simple. If you want to blame the loss on someone, blame it on 3 key missed free throws by Ron artest, and then not paying attention while allowing rondo to run past him in open court for the free lay in at the end of the game.

OMG!!!!! You Fakers fans are just like the team, a bunch of crybaby bitches….add up the free throws…who had more? Fakers….not the refs fault if your so called “lock down defender” artest cant make a basket to save his life…for a second there i thought shaq was back…but shaq don’t flop like that pansy did….the Fackers are not winning this because it takes more than one guy to do it…i wounder if they have green and white baloons to fall at the staples center? we will find out on tuesday!

You boston fans are a joke! I bet even before these finals started you were routing for another team. Pierce FINALLY showed up in game 5, what happened to Mr. 3POINTER? REY REY??? Bostons been getting lucky with their 6-7 point wins. Not exactly dominating!!! Lakers are gonna throw down and shut down the celtics tuesday then thursday!

You need to know that all boston fans including you are BANDWAGON FANS including YOU. nobody liked boston 4 years back when they sucked. So instead of commenting on everyones replyes try to figure out your real team.

To all LAKER fans. Yall are losing this series b/c yall have failed as a team to adjust throughout the series. Honestly the only person I see adjusting to the physical play and tempo of the game is KOBE. Blown calls been made on both sides. Yall are still soft. Yall playoff run went thru OKC, UTH, and PHX. Nobody picked either of those teams to beat yall. Now you’ve ran into the immovable objects LOL. It ends in 6 on Tuesday. Yall have no bench and Bynum is injured. I’ll be the 1st to admit that KOBE is the best player in the league and that coach JACKSON is by far the best, but yall don’t have a complete team. Not tryin to sound bias cause i’m a CELTICS fan but if you watchin the games is more and more obvious. Quit makin excuses

boston is such an @-hole place.. somebody threw something on the court when the lakers were about to turn things around very late in the 4th. yeah, LA didn’t take game5 but boston and the celts just showed the world how dirty they play.. DESPERADOS.. for the record.. paul pierce is the most over-acting player the world has ever known.. hey boston y’all never played DEFENSE.. it was wrestling and y’all just got away with it.. and yeah it was your last stand in boston.. coz y’all will be dead in LA.. GO LAKERS!!!!

MAN LAKER FANS ARE IN DENIAL…HAVE U GUYS BEEN WATCHING THE GAMES????LOOK HOW THE CELTICS PLAY DEFENSE AND OFFENSE…LAKERS CANT MATCH THAT SO DONT TRY TO BLAME IT ON THE REFS?? THIS IS THE FINALS, AND I LOVE HOW THE REFS LET THEM PLAY PHYSICAL…LAKERS ARE SOFT AND SO IS KOBE…ALWAYS COMPLAINING TO THE REFS…TAKE A HIT JUST LIKE LEBRON JAMES…AND PAU…PAU IS SOFT BECAUSE HE STILL HAS BRACES..HAHAHAHA!

Funny how laker fans thought LA would win the series in 5 and now they have no choice but to say in 7 (not that it’ll happen)…but the C’s are the perfect example of team basketball: blanced scoring, high assist games, and defeating the best individual players with team play…Go Cs.

I hope they win win game 6 cause if the lakers do then nothing can be predicted about a game 7.

Ha Ha people are crying about Fouls…ha ha…..Look at the Foul Shooting. Who is shooting way more Free Throws? Yea I thought so. Physical? jordan couldnt win in this? What is this that you type? This is nothing compared to the Bad Boys and Knicks. Physical?…..man please.

Maybe it’s time for LA to try some new things, because the same old formula hasn’t worked for two in a row now.

I’d like to see some more of Shannon Brown, and maybe even Farmar. Both those guys seem to have quick first steps and the ability to finish the drive. Maybe some more penetration might help and I haven’t seen much of that at all from LA this series. Also Farmar in particular has shown some pretty decent hustle in his limited minutes.

Boston on the other hand, just need to keep doing what they’re doing. Balanced scoring, tons of hustle and great physical man-on-man defence plus a really good team-help strategy if the first defender gets beat.

I have no real favourite in this series, but I usually go for the underdog and right now I think that’s LA. And part of me wants to see Kobe put together two incredible game winning performances. I miss watching Jordan in the Finals and I think Kobe is the closest thing we’ve got in this era, but I think it’s going to take the two best games of Kobe’s life if the rest of the Lakers don’t step up.

First off, I’m a Celtics fan so I already believe that we’ll win, I’d prefer it done in 6 but after that showing from the Lakers in game 5 I can see them coming back with a strong performance to take it to 7 (which after the amount of near sweeps this playoffs would be an absolute epic series finale). I think that the Celtics have the got the strategy down on how to deal with Kobe before he gets on his streaks, (which to be honest there is no stopping no matter how good the D is by Ray or Tony Allen) and then the high pressure D on the rest of the Lakers when he’s on it. Plus the bench has already shown its strength for putting up points on offence and its effectiveness on D. And to top all that off from all the coverage and interviews Doc just seems to have all the answers to whatever plays Jackson throws at him and is just handling the guys brilliantly.
That being said Jackson is one of the all time great coaches and you don’t get to Hall of Fame level like he has to get to this stage in a series and just hand it to us. I’m sure he would have been calling ahead for gasoline and oil so he could light the biggest fire possible under his team. Oh and to all those who say Home Court doesn’t matter, we won game 4 because of the combination of the bench and the fan reaction to it for the 6th man effect, and with the passion intertwined with the history of this match up, you can bet your bottom dollar every single LA fan from the last 50yrs will be all over the C’s, but we wouldn’t have it any other way;D

For me the real keys to the end of this series will be:

For the Celtics – Can Ray get his 3pt shot back, can the D stay strong and the keep the fouls (and Technicals) down.

For the Lakers – Can Gasol and Fisher get the upper hand in their match ups, can Bynum last another 96 mins, and possibly the most important can the Lakers bench contribute.

Either that or Doc will send Scal out for the last quarter just for kicks!

It’s a little funny seeing boston fans comment saying how the lakers cry and cry about fouls or refs or whatever. seriously? i think it’s safe to say that these two teams are the biggest babies, perhaps throwing cleveland in that mix as well. I mean, doc bitches about every call, pierce? seriously? if youre going to call out artest for flopping (rightfully so) look at pierce towards the end of the game when kobe simply stood there. Come on! It’s like when Boston was chanting KOBE SUCKS.. he clearly doesn’t, whether you’re a fan or not.

I can’t stand watching this anymore, the NBA should be ashamed, as it has let the finals represent more of a schoolyard game of thugs than a game of professional athletes playing what is suppose to be a non-contact sport. It is pathetic that Boston has to resort to such play in order to compete. They set illegal picks almost every single play, and is just sad to see them get away with so much physical play, it is sloppy, ugly, non-professional play and they don’t deserve to win. I will say that Allen’s 8 three pointer night was a thing of beauty though, he is truly one of the best shooters ever.

Sekou, you are soooooo wrong. Wrong, wrong wrong wrong wrong. How dare you bash on the Lakers like that…. We obviously know that you are a C’s fan!! Just because Pau’s shot was blocked doesn’t make him soft! Would you say that “King James” is soft if Tony Allen came up and blocked his shot when he was trying to stuff it in the cup. That was an obvious GOAL TEND. These officials are not doing they’re jobs!!

“lakers could show up the next game”
“Lakers played like little girls last game”

I understand you all have major faith in your team as you should, so you believe it wont stay that way. But when you talk about your losses please give credit to the celtics. They have made the three teams with the three best records in the nba this season play “unlike themselves” or as if they dont have the will to in. You ever think that maybe, because it always happens to teams that play against the celtics, that it has to do with the celtics play every bit that it does have to do with the other teams? Basketball is played by two teams not one. that being said, kobe is a beast, and the lakers are a good team and with bynum this series would have been much closer and much more in the lakers favor, but at this point, though you might say the lakers have been progressively playing worse, the celtics have been playing better progressively, each one finding his own rhythym, though ray allen is the one celtic who still seems to have lost it. Since bball is won by a team, i think the celtics will win, being better on the road then at home. You can blame the refs or blame bynums knee, but we’ll see what happens. excuses go both ways, please dont write nonsensical statements with no reference to real basketball.

Lakers and celtics played 2 completely different kind of games. when the celtics are going for fast break, lakers just stand in front of them hoping to get offensive foul which they don’t. when lakers are going for fast break, celtivs just pull them down and foul them hard. Another difference is Lakers didn’t set screens, they need that so ray allen could get off Kobe and he could get an open shot which never happend. when lakers are playing defense, they are always a step away from them, thats how pierce got all those shots. also Lakers weren’t playing aggressively.

I was wonderin if lakers win in game six, celtics is going down in seven and we will win the series….. but some many people was lookin at kobe in game five and he was very criticized cus its only one man and team its five guys… im a real laker fan and its felt two games but the reality its we need other four guys to play at level kobe has right now… Bynum and his kristal knee, Gasol so-so, Odom, where is odom?, Fisher where is your D man and Artes we need more than D, what about some O… well Lakers needs cohesivness to beat a real team like BOSTON…. But there is two more games and LAKES its goin to win through Kobe with his JORDANESC PERFORMANCE in that two GAMES…. LETS GO LAKERS

I have been going for the celtics since the start and i said in 6 games and this is why…(remember i live in LA and i am a laker fan but i just know the facts and put 2 and 2 together…
Theres no Kobe(I) in Team….
Bynum cant elavate as much.. Rebonds will go down..
Hey does The lakers have a bench(sarcasm)
The Celtics are healthy and want it more then ever…
Artest i think was a horrible player when it comes down to shooting smartly…
Pau will have his of course.. but in Clutch moments.. hes not always there..
Rondo is the best point guard in the series…
History always Predicts for the future
I dont know about u but in life the tough ones are the ones that make it…(Just like in basketball)

I have never been a LA fan, and I am surely not now. Boston is not my favorite team either, but we all have to admit that the refs are making or breaking it for each team. I love what the Boston did last night with their aggressiveness, and I would love to see Boston win in six. Everybody should know that Kobe is not just going to lay down and let the Celtics run him over. If the Celtics do win it will be a close game, and it will be game seven unless LA shows up and plays like they did in game 5. As far as the flopping goes come on guys get a grip both teams have been flopping and its because Fisher has taught that so well this series. BTW that was not a foul on Peirce that was just good hard defense, and i think Kobe deserves everything he gets.

Spltting hairs about fouls is ridiculous. So now it’s not the amount of fouls, it’s the timing. Please, that’s the most childish, ridiculous complaint yet. It rains on both teams. Heart, desire, skill, a good bench and teamwork decide these games and if Celtic fans are having fun because their team is up 3-2, thats the nature of being a sports fan. The Celts had a terrible injury last year that kept them from being 100% in the playoffs, this year they’re healhy and playing
championship basketball again, and their fans are loving it. This isn’t geo-politics, its sports, and calls for decorum are nothing but sour grapes. Always have been and always will be.

So, I’m reading all these posts from lakers fans about the no calls….What about the no calls for Boston? through most of 3 quarters(at least, I know it was the second half) Garnett was the ONLY player to even get free throws for Boston, and he only had 6….that tells me fouls were not being called. On the other end, the Lakers were getting to foul line, twice as much. As I watched the game I felt they were throwing the game in LA’s favor….and they STILL lost. LA fans always whine about the refs, but most times, even tonight, the refs favor LA…Some maybe they didn’t in two calls late in the game, but if you take away two other calls they got in their favor earlier in the game and suddenly LA isn’t even close enough for it to matter.

I will save the $(-)it talk for after the game, there still are two games, but I have been a Celtics fan since before the days of Larry Legend, and I will say that I hope they win, Much love to my C’s and good luck!

I became a Fan when I got home from the Army in late 1969. When I saw what Bill Russel and the guys were doing there, I couldn’t help becoming a fan even though I have never been to Mass. I live in a small rural town in SW ohio, but I’m a Celtic fan because I’m a fan of excellence. What makes me happy now is seeing Paul Pierce surrounded by winners, a winning coach and winning games and trophies. He suffered some bad times with the Green, but he stayed and it’s now paying off. He is going to have his number hanging from the rafters among many, many, great basketball players. Paul is the 3rd leading scorer in Celtic history. I think that’s quite an accomplishment.

it’s so easy to talk trash and talk big when the team you’re rooting for is on the advantage.,,,of course one should expect resistance from the opposing team’s fan: reasoning, arguments, whatsoever… but that defence is normal human reaction. yes i am a laker fan..but i admire boston’s toughness. now if we’re gonna go on an argument here, i might just wanna step down a level and state these facts. ONE. yes there are bad calls on both teams. but numbers doesn’t show bad officiating. it’s the TIMING in the game in which they are called. so if another team does go the FT line more, would that assure you that they had advantage from ref’s calls? i am never sourgraping, but several end-game booboo calls are being throwned. now go figure who was on the receiving end. that’s not blaming. it’s called keen observation from a non biased standpoint. be it with the team i’m rooting for, or the team i’m against. TWO. I know boston fans are all too excited and i have met and had good discussion with the some ‘WISE’ ones . learn from your fellow wise boston fans…quit yapping and let’s just all wait for the trophy to be hoisted. if the C’s are a league ahead in many areas of the game..then why state the OBVIOUS? it’s just a sport. not unless you’re riding the momentum to add a bit more sprinkle to your ego while proclaiming something that is probably gonna happen. see, if it weren’t 3-2 i bet your lines here wouldn’t look the same, right? THREE. yes we all love our teams. emotions rise. i enjoy debates. but remember until the fat lady sings…no trophy yet means premature celebration. i congratulate BOSTON in advance if they take it in 6. they worked hard for it. but with all humility i would accept another LAKER ring if they wrap it up in 7. and please, if LA does find a way to win it in 7, oh lord give some of the kids here some peace of mind. ya’ll know who you are :)

KObe doesnt simply make his teammates better, put lebron on lakers, instant champshionship n i dont even like lebron.
but im soryr LA fans boston gunna take this in 6 or even 7 ;) u laker fans keep deraming on abt winning back to back games with this tough celtics team. kobe told the media when they asked him are you confident in winning the championship. kobe responds ” I am not very confident at all”. what does that mean? if kobe aint confident. celtics got this pretty good in there hands.
THEY GOT THE HEART OF A CHAMPION.
CELTICS 2010 CHAMPS

What are you stupid? Instant championship? Lebron doesnt have any championships. Kobe has 4 and counting. So tell me please where you get your logic from? Please use your head before making very idiotic comments. And by the way get the heck out of here. This is a Boston/La room. Not any other of the 30 LOSER teams that are too pathetic to make it.

Kobe was being sarcastic and making fun of the reporter for asking such a stupid question. As for the Lebron comment he is probably referring to the fact that Lebron avg’d about 8.6 assists/game while Kobe only avg’d 5/game. You can possibly jump to the conclusion that Lebron distributes the ball more than Kobe and he (Lebron) has worse shooters on his team. On the other hand Lebron can’t shoot like Kobe, so he would pass more. While looking that up, Nash had just about 100 more assists than the next person in the NBA at 36 yrs of age.

CC this is an NBA room, even people who had their team knocked out of the playoffs still enjoy watching and following basketball.

Kobe needs to trust his teammates more and they need to show Kobe that they can make big plays down the stretch.

I agree and CC if your such a genuise those 4 championship by Kobe there’s only consider his and thats 09 Finals the others he did it WITH SHAQ,stop your nonsense already are you a ball fan or just one of those type that goes with his favorite player?its nice to be a fan but there’s a certain limit and understanding also to be a fan because before being a fan of Kobe be a fan of the game he plays.

[…] The Lakers said that they were a much tougher team than they were in ’08; however, Boston isn’t buying that. With each win, the Celtics are proving to the world that they are still a better team. [NBA.com] […]

Better, faster and tougher. The formula for a Boston game six win and title. The know how to beat LA, and LA does not know how to beat Bston, they have to struggle too much, and now they have decided it’s all on Kopb’s back, exacly the postion Doc Rvers wants them in.

IM NOT EVEN A FAN OF THE BOSTON CELTICS (((((BUT I DO HAVE A FEELING THAT THEY WILL WIN THE PLAYOFFS.!!!!!! THERE IS TO MANY PEOPLE DEPENDING ON KOBE EVEN HIS TEAM.! LAKERS IS A ONE MAN TEAM KOBE IS THE ONLY GOOD PLAYER THEY HAVE.!!!!!

BOSTON CELTICS HAVE:

RONDO
PIERCES
KEVIN GARRENT
BIG BABY DAVIS
&ND MORE..!!!! OFF TOP BOSTON GONE WIN ALL THE LAKERS DO IS CRY EVERY TIME THEY LOSE A GAME.! BOSTON CELTICS IS A STRONG GOOD YOUNG TEAM..!!!!!!

Despite it was Kobe agasint six guys, they were only beaten by “six” points. If Odom and Gasol step up their game, and Lakers pick up on the defensive end, I believe they can win the next two games. They can learn from the enemy by watching videos from the last two games. It was easy to see that they don’t give the Lakers an inch of space to shoot and the Lakers MUST do the same – nothing more to it.

First of all Lakers are going to win the 2010 NBA championship! And second of all Gasol is a better than everyone ecept rondo on Bostons team and Big Baby had one good game thats it! See ya Celtics Lakers in 7!

Alright, the Lakers played poor game. The Celtics shot the lights out. The Lakers were missing way too many shots, but in the end, we lost by six. When you play a horrible game, and the other teams shoots about 55%, and you lose ONLY by six, that is a sign that you are the better team. Another thing, there were some bullshi* calls in the last quarter, Ray Allen’s three obviously didn’t hit the rim, so that should have been Lakers ball. Pierce flopped on the “push” by Kobe. Kobe was standing with his arms at his chest when pierce fell. Another thing, when Kobe and Pierce were fighting for the ball, where is the jumpball or even a foul. I say the Lakers win game 6 easily, They will be ready and will have the mindset to win, and when the play great, they are impossible to beat,

Excuses and crying…the two requirements to be Lakers fan. In the end, as in all sports, it’s the W’s that count. And your wrong about the best team, the best team won. LOL, it’s not as complicated as you wish it would be.

Hello remember game 4, LA was shooting above 50% at halftime and the Cs where shooting poorly and were down by only 3 points…it’s called offensive rebound and second chance points.
Also, how come no one is mentioning when kobe took the out of tony allen’s hands…that could have easily been a jumpball but it wasn’t called so stop complaining alreayd

I have to say that it’s important for fans to consider the way basketball has changed, specifically regarding aggressive play. I was nervous when the series first started because the refs were calling the games so TIGHT (and by tight i don’t mean accurate, as both teams can confirm) that it clearly disadvantaged the more physical team (celts). The celts DEF play physical basketball but not DIRTY basketball (though every player on every team has his shady moments).

Consider the celts age in the equation. As much as everyone has dismissed them for it, it may actually help in this particular case. Many of the celts (allen, pierce, KG, Wallace etc) came up playing in a basketball era that allowed for MUCH more physicality than it does these days. I don’t appreciate sheed’s inability to control his emotions when it costs the celtics points or possessions (otherwise i like his passion), but I think he plays great physical basketball and (until game 5) was one of the few celts giving Gasol a run for his money. Personally, the “chinese eyes” incident from the 08 olympics still rubs me the wrong way, so while i respect many of the Lakers…Gasol is not really one of them.

I think sports have become way too reliant on refs and officials. Peep soccer these days, Italy essentially won the 06 world cup by pretending to be hurt and grabbing eyes and limbs that weren’t even touched. Basketball is one of the only sports i know of where you’re allowed to try and draw a foul (and yes Pierce does a good, clean, job of it most times) but it’s gotten out of hand in terms of refs limiting clean aggressive play. The celts for the most part play that old(er) school brand of basketball (with the exceptions of some of their more finesse players) and while I respect Kobe for all he does on the court I LOVE how much of a true TEAM the celts are. How great has it been to see them share the load!

Also, Sekou, any chance you actually passed my suggestion along to KG? HA HA! Notice how great he was on those rebounds? :)

As for Boston’s tough road… HA… Everybody knows how to stop the Cavs and Magic. Shut down LeBron and Howard. Easy. The problem with the East is it is weak. Put Boston into the Western Conference for a year and I’d be surprised if they even made the playoffs. Shaq went East for an easier schedule. East is the only Conference that produces under .500 playoff teams. So basically win half your games you make it to the promised land. Cleveland clinched in what 55 games? There’s no challenge to make it to the playoffs over there. So, Boston fans can claim the “tough” road after they actually have one. I’m not saying LA had it hard, because really they didn’t. They dominated the West. But at least the number 8 seed in the West deserved the right to be in the playoffs.

Yeah it’s SO easy to shut down Lebron and Dwight Howard (forget Dwayne Wade). I mean two of the best players in the world, piece of cake. Such weak teams too! #1 AND #2 seeds (that includes the west.) They also lead the Lakers (best team in the west) 4-3 so far this season. Oh they are the champs from 2008 after beating the best team in the west. Clearly they are a fluke who had an easy road and are heavily outclassed by the Lakers. The Lakers had to fight such difficult teams as the Thunder who have 0 playoff experience and are the youngest team. A Jazz team plagued by injuries. And an admittedly dangerous suns who were however undersized and played zone (read “no”) defense.

you are definitely out of your mind dude. hahaha. i’m really laughing at your post. The eastern teams are better than the west! Lakers are in the championship because they do not have Wade, Lebron, and Howard to battle with. You place the lakers in the east and definitely, they are not going to be in the championship! hahaha.

You must be mis-infomed, the eastern conference have the most number of tough teams thats why many teams barely made it above .500 during the regular season! Its in the west that the lakers are favoured coz their isn’t much depth in other western conference teams! San Antonio are old guys, phoenix doesn’t have enough hieght, oaklahoma are too young, etc. In the east are the real challengers: orlando, boston and cleveland!

This guy(backtoback)most not be a ball player like for real your not even close.If you are go play at a local gym and play against THE best player there and tell me is it easy to slow down a talented player.Like are you mad, were talking about the next most dominant player in ALL ASPECT Lebron James, im not a fan of his after theses play-offs but you can’t deny his ability to litterally have triple-doubles or double-doubles on any night and you got Dwight Howard THE MOST DOMINENT FORCE in the paint who hasnt even touched his potentiel yet and your going to say he’s easy to beat.That really weak of you to say the west is stronger then the east, there was a time when they were but no longer the East has picked up there play and are competing against West teams,while teams in the West seem to be getting older.So before thrwoing nonsense around think,you really think the Lakers would have it easy if the same Celtics,Magics,Cavs where there c’mon man!

Thats real funny lakers fans. During game 1, everyone said Boston in 6. Now you all change to lakers in 7. I dont buy it. Every time the lakers win, the fans defend them by blaming the refs, the players. Why can’t you guys just be quiet and accept a loss? Such crybabies.

Never said the Lakers were getting the blunt end of the stick. The refs SUCK! They have sucked for the past decade. But no, we still get the same old hacks of refs every year. I think they make a bad call that was decisive in a game, they should be put out to pasture. And I have a feeling the majority of them are dirty. Recycle the whole lot and get some refs in there that want to call the game, FAIRLY, BOTH WAYS. Touch fouls, phantom fouls, not being able to tell when players are acting it up to get calls… Hell this goes back to Reggie Miller spending more time on the ground then on his feet.

The fact remains, the current refs lack the ability to call a fair game, either way, for whatever reason. It’s ruining the game.

First of all I have to say the reffing this series has sucked. Most of the games the lakers have lost would have been wins by normal reffing/ officiating. Foul shot attempt stats don’t indicate anything. A foul is a foul and only true fouls should be called, whether it makes one team have a 39 to 5 freethrow attempt advantage or not. Obviously celtics got some bad calls too but Lakers have gotten WAY more. Secondly Lakers need to learn how to play defense and rebound. Good god Ron Artest why aren’t u guarding Pierce or any1 like you did Kevin Durant? Kobe is the only 1 playing with the heart of a champion on the lakers. For lakers to win this series and bounce back they need to have better bench player production and better defense. It’s plain and simple Boston has amazing defense, so it’s not a shocker when kobe is shooting 41%, even MJ would. So therefore lakers must play the celtics level of defense. Too do better defense that means 1- Make the big 3 work and take tough shots and live with the results. 2- Box out your man including the person guarding Rondo! 3- Go after every loose ball and hustle! Lets go lakers! Don’t get rattled by these celtics!

LA has had a every chance to take the lead but i’m disappointed by the offense… I mean Kobe can put out atronomical numbers but can’t defeat the celtics on his own. We need Gasol, fisher and someone to do something….. i mean the bal should never be given to artest towards the end of the game…….. He is not an offensive threat and boy does he needs to press more d on paul pierce…..be more intimidating…..if the lakers win we needs to re evaluate what worked for LA in game one and kept on working in game 3. We are getting pummelled around and part of it is officiating but the other is no execution on shot…..theres just too much dribbling.!!! C’MON L.A. WE’RE STILL NOT OUT OF IT!!!!

The Celts D disrupts the Lakers O. Thats why they end up with Artest taking shots he cant make, that’s why Artest is so confused, it’s why Gasol is out of gas and the Lakers find themselves in a very bad situation, facing elimination. The Celtics play real, rotaing, man, help D. They dont let up.

Sorry to disappoint you man, but the game was about mental toughness! Kobe took over as he should when his team needed it but the rest did not response with their D. They lost game 5 coz they could not make the stops that they needed. The finals is not about offense, defence wins championships! I have always admired the lakers’ defense but this time it was the celtics D that was awesome! Like i said before, the team that plays better wins the game! And i mean play both offense and defense better!!!

Lakers usually get preferential treatment by the refs. They are going to get preferential treatment in game 6, just like in the Phoenix series. Them being home will only make matters worse. Also you know the NBA wants this to go to 7 games for $$$ reasons. The refs will be biased towards the Lakers guaranteed. Celtics unfortunately will have to beat both the Lakers and the refs in game 6. They are tough and they have heart of a champion. They’re going to have a big hurdle on Tuesday but I think they can do it.

Evne the officials cant stop the rorating defence. I think differnetly, the ref’s aren’t going to want to be he center of attention in a game 6. I think they will let them play. After all, the Lakers made the claim they are a tougher team than the ’08 team, and the refs are aware of their claim, and will allow them to be tough, if they really are, and the refs already know the Celts are tough. Te Lakers still have to prve they are, and whining about calls isn’ the way to prove toughness.

Lakers can score and out rebound the Celtics. If they can just improve their defense, they will definitely can win the next two games. There were just tooooo many open looks for the Celtics and they must “challenge” every shot.

To keep the Cetics from having open looks and high percentage shots, they will have to get some speed from somewhere, and after 5 games, they still haventy shown the speed to win a 7 games series againt a high speed team like the Celts. Rondo runs circles around them. Garnett beats them down the court on breaks. Who is going to run with the Celtics speed, when the cant even operate against their D? The lakers are up against a superior team. A team superior in more than one way.

Paul Pierce will heat up just like he did in game 5 and the C’s will finish off the Lakers in 6 in LA. Nate Robonson and baby davis will come in late in the 1st or early in the 2nd and penetrate the lakers D. Dereck Fisher is not fast enough to guard nate or rajon and Bsby is incredibaly beasting Pau and Andrew in the post…Celtics in 6

I think Lakers now paying the price for not upgrading more of their role players / bench since winning championship. The bench,Odom apart is lacking and no one on it looks likely to put up 12 -15 points to help when starters struggle. Though i am an Artest fan,Arizza did a great job last year getting a easy points on the fast break and Lakers miss his speed.athleticism,and more consistent 3 point shooting. Good solid defender as well. That said,they are stiil very much in this series and not likely to go down quietly. Bad teamate Kobe is rearing its ugly head again, find him cold,churlish and he must be hard work for colleagues and media alike.

Probably both ! Kobe no assists 2nd half,and not even the consistent Pau Gasol was seeing the ball coz was jacking the shots up. He has to help make those around him better as well. Doc as already figured out that Kobe doesnt have much left in 4thQ,certainly not in games 4 and 5 anyway. He has to do better job in trusting Pau and Lamar. If all Lakers are standing around watching him shoot all night then it is gonna effect them on both ends of the court. Artest could do with being more selective from 3point line,but i think the so far absent Laker bench shooters will shoot better at home.

Arona good points and your probably amongst the LAkers fans that blog that actually watches the game and gives good comment, and i’ve said it since Kobe is becoming that volume player AGAIN there’s nothing to be said he’s arrogant and very harsh when he’s not having things his way. Yes he’s a ball player and alot fo them get like that or are like that, and i’m not proud of Pierce for denying and saying things in which were obvious but Kobe and the media said it KOBE ONLY TRUST FISHER,there’s noone else to his eyes who deserves it if its not Fisher and sometimes Fisher has delivered but i really see it hard for guys like Artest and Odom and Gasol to step up they’ve proven in almost throughout all the play-offs there lack of will and aggresiveness, Odom just seems to me like the player with a waste of talent i can’t believe he’s 6-10 or w/e and not a dominant force in 82 games or in the playoffs,Gasol no comment he’s just being handled and you saw it with Stoudamire and when he decided to go after Garnett he made A HUGE MISTAKE, and Artest what more can you say then wow he’s taking shots he has no business taking, Im a fan of the GAME but the reason why im rooting for Celtics i see a team,i see guys coming off the bench and still competing,playing,defence,scoring and playing within there system and there ability not trying to hard to force things and it proves that they have the advantage THE BENCH, you got the Celts starters who start the note and it seems when they sub they don’t let go,on the other hand Lakers after Odom you sub Farmar or Brown and you see the difference the ball is simply moving around the top and its stagnent offence becuase they’ve grown used to having Kobe there and ball in his hands,in result shot clock violation or a bad shot.I really enjoyed theses playoff, and i don’t mind who wins but i rather Boston because they ACTUALLY worked hard to get where they got, Lakers show up to a game knowing there the Lakers and thinking thats enough to get them to win. I hope this is a wake-up call for the Laker organisation they need to get rid of some players or do something if Boston wins for the 2nd time, because teams are getting ready for 10-11 already with the big Free Agency and if Lakers don’t do anything they’llbe the next Spurs.

I to am just a huge fan of the game, and certainly no Lakers fan. Found myself rooting for the Celtics since the Big 3 came together with one of my favourite personalities in NBA in Doc Rivers. He is class,wise.funny,and treats everyone with respect and dignity. Prove to be hell of a man motivator and basketball coach. Add to that the passion and intensity of KG, the beauty of Sugar Ray Allen’s shot,i cheer for these characters from Boston and their total team ethic and basketball. ENJOY rest of the series !

WTH???? Are you kidding? The ref’s cannot decide a best of 7 series!!!! You LAKER fans are just like your players……Whiners!!!! When you win….Oooohh you are the best in the land but when your team loses…it’s any and everybody’s fault except the Lakers. Looking for some to blame???? Start with Artest, Fisher, Gausol and Mr. Khardashian. Maybe LaMar needs to lay of the reality show and concentrate on his day job. Big Baby man handled him like a lost puppy. Your teams problem….Kobe 38, Gausol 12, Fisher 9, Artest 6, Bynum 6 and Mr. Khardashian 9. This coupled with the fact that your bench sucks is pretty much the fault. Jordan, Sasha and Luke don’t even deserve to be in the league let alone playing for a championship. Those are the facts. If you want to go toe to toe on foul calls I’m sure that the Celtics fans will gladly lay out their list of missed calls. Remember….your LAKERS shot 26 free throws to the Celtics 13. That is just absurd. Don’t even try to go there with the ref’s and the calls cause you whiners got your fair share! You guys lost 4 and 5 so just man up and deal with it.

But now the LA fans are not complaining about the number of calls, now it’s the timing. Theyre mutli-dimensional cry-babies. They lost 4 & 5, and there is no reason to think they wont win 6 either. They have shown their cards, and it was apparent when the best talk Jackson could give them was how Boston loses in the 4th Q, That was as close to admitting his team could hang as one could get. In those few crazy, ill-timed words, he spoke volumes about his team, not Boston. That was close to writing his teams collective epitath.

Celtic sucks you kill yourself, and to the idiot who said no Celtic fans was on the blog when it was 2-1. I was and said that Boston would take 2 out of 3 at home and finish ya Fakers off in LA. Boston in 6

Laker fans go cry like Kobe & Fisher. It’s bad officiating it’s the refs, just look at the free throw amrgin and tell me who get’s the calls. Kobe shot that 3 pointer and they called Ray Allen for a foul when he clearly didn’t touch Kobe. Go cry a river,sea or ocean Homowood La Loser fans

Boston Boston Boston Loser Loser Loser. Stop humping your mom and get with the program. Lakers in 7 and you are such a loser win or lose. If Boston wins they should make Boston Boston Boston the MVP because he does his own mom better then me and that’s saying something. You should tell her to clean that nasty thing out because I can smell that nastiness from here.

Im a huge Laker fan, and im not going to mess around and say Boston sucks, because they do not. Kobe is doing his job, sometimes even more than he has to do, but what can he do about it. The Lakers as a team must to show up. We cant afford Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and especially Ron Artest playing soft and inconsistent throughout the series. Both teams are getting unnecessary calls, not just the Lakers. But really, Boston fans need to take it easy, its not over until it is over. Once the Celtics win it all brag all you want but a 3-2 lead going onto the road to beat the Lakers isnt a guaranteed banner, unless the Lakers keep playing the way they played the last 2 games. (which I highly doubt). Celtics are great, but its not over. I say its going to be Lakers in 7.

It is nice to see a non-flaming post with constructive thoughts. Especially comments regarding the refs and their poor officiating for both teams. The refs have been pretty awful throughout the entire playoffs this year and I thought the Lakers had gotten the majority of the calls in the first three rounds. People need to remember that the amount of free-throws taken does not mean the officiating was one sided. It just means the fouls were called in different situations. I hate Fisher more than anyone because he swipes at everyone, hacking people on the arms, he flops whenever anyone makes small amounts of contact (Allen may push off a little but Fisher flailing and falling backward is why it looks like he pushes off more than he really does) he creates most of the contact on the offensive end and then he complains when he doesn’t get calls. You also have Artest who looked ridiculous after Rondo barely pushed him. Every team in the NBA probably has a player who flops though.

Whoever said that the Cavs and Magic are better than the Lakers are so wrong. The Lakers would beat both of them pretty easily. The Cavs are even less of a “team” than the Lakers and the Magic are really not that impressive in my opinion.

@BostonBostonBoston – you are talking a lot of crap and commenting on every Laker post. I agree with you that a lot of them are complaining about the refs which they shouldn’t but the Lakers are a great team and the series is definitely not over. Kobe is hands down the best player in the NBA and even though they don’t always play as a team he is good enough to win a game basically alone in LA. Don’t get ahead of yourself because there is a very high chance this game is going to 7 and can go either way.

the ball is round and it’s hard to make predictions. i combine historical statistics and the way a team plays. momentum is in Boston’s side now and historical statistics are against the Lakers so i think Boston has a better chance of taking the trophy. I’m hoping Boston will take it in Game 6 or 7.

Don’t start blaming the refs. Yes, this has been the worst officated series i can remember but it goes both ways. Fisher flops on defense and offense and sometimes the call goes his way and other times they dont. Rasheed Wallace had a couple bad fouls called on him in game 3 i believe when after watching reply he clearly stripped the ball. They even gave him a tech on 1 of the plays leaving him 1T away from a suspension. LA was at the line 26 times yesterday and Boston shot only 13 foul shots all game and half of those came at the end when LA was purposely sending them to the line. Stop crying about fouls and start playing ball.

Well, I want to believe that the Lakers will come back and win the series, but I see no reason why this would happen without a lot of luck and key players stepping up for the Lakers. This Boston team is experienced, talented, deep, and very-well coached and have clearly figured the Lakers out; they’ll take an inefficient 30 points from Kobe because no other Laker has been consistently good in every game. The worst guys for the Lakers have been Ron Artest and Lamar Odom. Odom has been invisible, and Artest has actually hurt the Lakers. He’s completely lost the Paul Pierce matchup, getting pounded over and over and commiting stupid fouls, and then putting up terribly low shooting percentages. These guys have to play much better, Pau Gasol has to play more aggresive, and Kobe needs to be more efficient and try to make the game easier for himself and his teammates. And they have to do this twice against and extremely tough Celtics team. Is there any reason I should believe the Lakers can turn this around?

Your very right and im very concerned. I really really dont want Artest to be benched but it seems that its for the best. Lakers need a perimeter guy who can play hustle defense. Put Kobe on pierce and let Fisher continue to pressure Allen. Even tho Luke Walton is not consistent, at this point I trust him over Artest. Artest is like a heavy potato bag. When he’s on the floor the Lakers lose their rythem. Basically the 5 Celtic players can defend 4 Lakers. Which makes doubling Kobe much easier. 4 players cannot score against a Celtic defense. I think that if the Lakers go a little smaller, they can put more pressure on Celtics. Lakers are moving way to slow and the “old” Celtics are allowed to calmly pick up their assignments and zones. Where has Brown been? He’s much faster and more offensive minded than Artest. And he is willing to make the hustle plays. Phil Jackson should not have given up Ariza but thats in the past. He needs to do something and do something quick because as a Laker fan, Im not happy with the way things are. How can Kobe score almost 40, Lakers win the boards, and win the freethrow battle and still lose?

you laker fans are all dreamers lakers in 7 2 players cant win a ring but a team will and heck yea were braggen look who we put down to get here and now you guys will be going fishing 6 or 7 you guys will go down all your false brags from that tall tree you call a coach man save it wake up 47 and 0 huh will we have one two 11 and 0 when leading 3 and 2

Plain and simply, Boston is going to lose back to back games and cry a river on Thursday night. Showtime is coming back to LA, and LA is going to win it their way. LA will blow out game 6 and put Boston back in their place, and Game 7 will be decided on the free-throw line and the refs will either screw LA or let them play. Game 5 was a pathetic display of officiating and all the Finals refs should be banned for life from ever officiating in any sport ever again.

Yea i agree with ya, Calls were around 50/50, Ray allen’s missed 3, no way the Refs can see that if it touched the rim or not, and it could have gone either way. Kobe whinning about PP taking the ball out of him is just stupid, he did the say when he and Tony Allen went for the ball, Kobe ripped it out of TA’s hand, and what did TA do, ran back on defence. Man up to the game, its phyiscal, but LA seem so soft after game 5. LA has to stop its flopping, its not doing them good. Fisher the flopper. Artest probably learnt it from him. Weren’t there many LA fans said LA in 6? good luck in that.
GO BOSTON

I don’t understand how you guys keep looking forward to game 7!! why are you skipping game 6!!! could it be that you have alot of faith on your lakers!! Listen I can respect both teams right now, but when Kobe is doing all the scoring he’s doing us a big favor because doing that puts everyother player out of sync, Celtics at time tend to do that and it scares me!! but they always come through as a team, one how do you allow Rondo to tip it back to take a 7pt lead??? Odom & Gasol just looked at each other!! Kobe wined like always and Phil just looked down to the floor!!, So tell me why are you looking torwards game 7!! Kobe will always be Kobe, he will perform and ray allen or tony will have ups & downs guarding him as of Pierce he will have his way with artest, and Artest will be more physical with Pierce to send a message, but that puts him in foul trouble then who do you have?? Walton??? seriously do you think walton can make an impact if anything when u have bench players who have not made an impact in the series play on the court on critical possesions the ball will end up in Kobe’s hand and hope for their best!! or and it has been happening all series with lakers bench they run down the clock trying to create something which makes them shoot desperation shots, Im sorry but game 7 shoulb the last thing on ur mind !!! Celtics in 6 only because they’re going to rip their hearts out. unless Kobe is a team player and not an all star

hilarity ensues…has anyone looked at the box score? The VISITING Fakers got twice as many FTs as the Celtics in this game and every game this series . They scored 8 more points from them than the Celtics and the Celtics still whipped their whiny butts. Come on, Fakers fans! Aren’t you dying to blame the refs for this abysmal buttkicking? It couldn’t be the utter slapdown the Celtics gave yer pansy team, can it? Well, it was, cause the Celtics got only one more rebound than the Fakers, and with all that going for them AND Kobe’s 38, you’d think the Fakers would’ve put up a fight. Hey Phil, who dat losin in the 4th quarter, huh? Who dat? Why it’s none other than the Phony Genius and his Fakers team. Pretenders all the way. And you all better get used to it. There’s more where that came from. Celtics in 6, same as it ever was. ITS INCREDIBLE HOW WE SO CALLED HARDCOE FANS THAT BELIEVE ONE SUPERSTAR CAN BEAT A TEAM. BASICLY A 1 ON 5. ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD can you be fooled

Are you a fortune teller? How can you know the outcome of game 6 if they haven’t played yet? Keep dreaming man!!! Boston won game 5 coz they wanted to win it more than the lakers did!!! Plain and simple!!! For the lakers to win twice in a row, they must win game 6 first!!! Boston showed more heart and tenacity in game 5, can the lakers do the same in game 6? Only they can answer that! So, for now, just pray that the lakers will come out and play in game 6!!!

The Refs are not from Boston right? I remember Boston getting way more offensive fouls. Rondo’s putback over Kobe and Odom when Odom pushed him in the air, which is technically a flagrant one went unnoticed. Artest’s shove of KG which was a clear flagrant was unnoticed. Allen “fouled” Kobe on a 3 point attempt when the Lakers needed it badly. And the Lakers went to the line twice as much as Celtics overall. The Celtics had a big call go their way when they got possesion after Ray’s missed three. To me the replay showed the balls path deflected slightly off the rim, but no human ref could possibly have seen that so I think the Celtics were lucky to get that call. But Pierce did not foul Kobe when he got the ball. Kobe did not have possesion and Pierce didn’t displace him. He did the same thing to Kobe that Kobe did to KG on the same play. He wanted it more and he took it.

Rondo is great, but Pierce has been doing the dirty work. Pierce is the one that has kept up the defensive intensity. He’s the one that takes the game on his shoulders when he has to. He’s made clutch freethrows everytime while Rondo has struggled under the pressure. Rondo is the best and most consistent player on the Celtics, but he’s the baby that’s been protected by the big brothers. He’s been nurtured, sheltered, and groomed by everyone so he can be that guy. He has his whole career ahead of him to earn MVP. If (Hopefully) the Celtics win this year, Pierce should get MVP.

I agree that Pierce has been outstanding, but Rondo has been consistant throughout the entire playoff series, making one highlight play after the other. I dont think Boston would be in the drivers seat right now if not for Rondo. I think he deserves the MVP for many reasons. But, you’re right about Paul, he’s a great Celtic.

Rondo should be named MVP. being guarded by Kobe himself and still be a catalyst in the game should be enough to earn him the trophy. the points, steals, passes, hustle, rebounds and execution made the Celtics a much better team overall.

I agree, Pierce is great but he’s no MVP. He talks a lot, and that’s saying something considering the amount on missed shots in the first 3 games. It took him too long to start scoring, There’s another game left before I make a decision. But Rondo has been consistent, whether the other guys score 5 or 20 Rondo does what he does best. He’s my MVP, young and has time ahead of him or not, he’s earned it. It was Rondo who played Big Brother when Artest threw KG on the floor, not the other way around.

I saw alot of Ray allen push offs in every game i know theres alot of battling for positiion, but I mean ray allen getting the bar out there. That was messed up. I think our downfall was when Ron Artest went to the line and missed both free throws then Kobe got the rebound and paul pierce came and molested kobe and the ball. I know if fish or any of the others did that to one of them, they’d call a foul on us for that. complete crap dude. It’s not about toughness cuz there are plaenty of plays out there that the LAkers have tried to out muscle but never have the call go there way.

It never fails, when the Lakers lose, it’s always unjust. What a joke you LA fans are. You want every foul called on Boston? The lakers go to the line as much as two times as Boston, and thats still not enough for you. Get real.

BOSTON!BOSTON!BOSTON! Take you paul pierce and his wheel chair back to Boston b/c L.A aint going to let Boston win on homecourt and stop acting like u think you’re a thug or no evrything about basketball u fool u just make yourself look ignorant and stupid while u disagree with others for the same thing. Look at yourself b4 u talk, man is so into sports maybe if you stopped replying to every god damn L.A fans post u could actually get off your chair and get a college degree or a JOB.

Omar your on suicide watch. You said Kobe got molested by Pierce just like when Tony Allen went for a rebound and Kobe took the ball, no call was the right call 2 guys with they’re hand on a loose ball it’s about who wants it and clearly Paul Pierce wanted that rebound. Go Cry a river Faker fans. The Lakers I mean Losers have doubled Boston free throw attempts in 2 games now and the Celtic’s still won. It’s over for LA.

PSA If you know a Lakers fan or are related to one. Please check on them often they are all on SUICIDE WATCH

Are you kidding me? Derek Fisher is hammering Allen the whole game and grabbing his jersey and stuff. That’s not basketball. Derek Fisher’s lucky he hasn’t fouled out yet this series. And Paul didn’t “molest” Kobe, he just wanted it more. Kobe didn’t secure the ball, end of story. What about that 3-pt foul Kobe got? Please, the refs have been calling it the Lakers way the majority of the series, and Boston’s still up 3-2. Or what about Rondo’s tip? He got pushed by Odom. The refs have been consistently horrible this series, for both teams.

Law you are obviously on suicide watch yourself so do us all a favor when they tip off tonight go to your night stand and pull out that gun you know the one that is shaped like a dildo and put it in your mouth and blow away.

I think the refs were the toughest with their bias calls. It seems like they either do not have peripheral vision or they just interpreting the rules on the fly. In general, the celtics are getting away with too many fouls, especially Rondo with the reach-ins.

How is it that in a game where No Celtic shoots free-throws until the second half and the game ends with the Lakers Shooting 26 free-throws to Bostons’ 13, you thing that it’s the Lakers who are being cheated out of calls?

It’s not a bias call, there are calls that are in favor of the LA too, like the clear block of Paul to Ron, there’s no foul there man. It’s just that the refs are like a pus ready to explode when touched even with a light manner. Both teams are plagued with bad calls.

The lakers and kobe have to come alive. they r way to calm and cool on the outside. i know that in a coach jackson team its part of amind set but right now they have to explode out of the court and on the court. bring your inner ammbitions your deepest desire to and off the court its emotions time and we got a whole stomech of those. kobe please dont play mind games just play and dont shut up yell moan grool drool klose give instructions to your teammates play with intensety. dont play as the worlds best basketball player, play as an hungry student of the game do all the little stuff that makes a team a winner on offense and on defence and every other moment in the next games cuse every and each one of them counts vs a team that orgenized as the celtics/ they r not as good as 08 but we well have to do every thing small and big grey or hilight to win these 2 remaining games.

check this out: BOS won at least 2 ROAD games against the TOP 2 TEAMS in the east, CLE(games 2 and 5) and ORL(games 1 and 2), they already got 1 against LAL(game 2), and with BOS leading 3-2 heading back to LAL, what does that tell you?

it means Boston is going to win another road game in LA (most probably) and hope we take home the championship!!!

i don’t know if we can take it in Game 6 or 7, the ball is round and it’s hard to make predictions. i combine historical statistics and the way a team plays. momentum is in Boston’s side now and historical statistics are against the Lakers so i think we have a better chance of taking the trophy.

So the lakers fans say they have the HC advantage, but fail to address the real advantage in the series to date, Boston’s 3-2 advantage. We’ll take that and go to LA knowing we have won there before, and now that we know how to handle the lakers, we’ll enjoy that 18th banner being won on the road. “Give me that ball”. Says Paul to Kobe as he takes the ball from him leaving Kobe thrashing his arms and crying while the Celts go on another fast break.

Score 40 tuesday night Kobe while your team scores 80. We like it like that.

what’s your deal, man. you comment to every laker fan here bragging about what boston has done for the last 3 series they had. anything can still happen. you might eat what you said, as well as mine,so we’ll just see what’s gonna happen in tuesday. you can’t change what i beieve and you can’t change what other laker fans believe: we hate each other’s teams! and even you comment back at me, i’m still gonna stand on what i believe: LAKERS IN 7!

It’s not my deal, I’m just enjoying watching the Celts beat the Lakers. I have seen it before, and I love seeing it again. Why are all you lakers fans such crybabies? You guys are like your team, all bling, but no backbone.

You celtic fans talk big. To remind you this is your first time leading the series and your boston team biggest win at home is 7 points. Don’t get too comfy up there in the 3 win column for the finals. Lakers wil storm back tomorrow! then finish it on thursday. I wonder what kind excuses you boston fans will have next.

haha it’s funny how you say “WE” this and “WE” that. Lakers will get it in 7. Hands down. They only lack one thing and one thing only. TOUGHNESS….that shouldnt be a major adjustment to do. So as a Laker fan, THEY (the Lakers) will get it in Game 7. BTW…what do you do in the team Celtics since you keep saying WE?? are you thier water boy? towel boy? anyways lets go LAkers!!! nothing to be worry bout. Game 5 is done and its in the past. Move on forward and just handle the business that you all are used to doing. Being in this predicament is what makes a champion! Earn this and yall be good.

Yeah man go out once in a while for a walk or even some ice cream its like your a little too obsessed with Celtics. To bad they dont know how big of a sore loser you are. You milk one trait abt the Lakers which isnt true everyone wants to get the refs attention Doc did it so honestly acting like you know everything and when it back fires kinda sucks buddy

dude stop putting up these stats to scare people off, 0-4 or not that was a different lakers-celtics team matchup in the past…and that stat definitely has nothing to do with what will happen in the next 2 games ahead!!!

But if u really want put that stat pressure on the laker fans, may i also remind remind everyone that Phil Jakcson’s Team is 47-0 when his team wins the first game of ANY playoff series!!!

Still waiting for MR kardashian to SHOW UP! Wake up man, Bynums hurt and showing more then odom.
Lakers stop the europian flopping! this is a mans game.
All credit to Boston as a fan of the game you gotta respect that Heart.
COME ON
YOUR WARRIORS IN GOLD AND Unbeatable when you ALL play Hungry.
GO L.A
Don’t let them celebrate on Home Floor, for pride as much as the championship.

Man, Im a Lakers fan but I noticed that they were playing like babies. The toughness that they were supposed to have has gone down the toilet. The Celtics are fighting for eachother and muscling their way into victory. Pau Gasol had me red hot all game because you can just tell he was playing way to soft. Bynum and Kobe were the only players playing tough but once Bynum’s knee gives out, its only Kobe. What the hell happened to the Artest that we all came to love and hate? He used to punch fans, get into it with Kobe, and other players. Now he gets pused around by Rondo? I hope to god that Lakers are pissed off and are ready for blood because no matter how good they are, if they play like little girls, they will lose.

pau gasol may have bulked up a little, but he has a weak passive mentality, i knew it all the way back when the lakers played orlando earlier this year when he gave a weak ass push on dwight howard who still dunked it with ease

It’s simple. Boston isn’t going to be shoved around by anyone. They had a tough road to travel to get where they are, and they aren’t going to give it up now. Boston wins it all Tuesday night while Kobe and pau cry on each others shoulders.

Pau and Kobe already crying. Boston have been winning on the road this whole post season. The Cavs and Orlando had home court and guess what, Boston won. Tonight it’s over it’s sad, the last game of the year. To the Lakers, you had a good year, maybe next season lol

How will they do it? Just by virtue of being at home? They arent palying the type of basketball to beat Boston in a series just the the Cavs or the Magic. When all the cheerleading is done, you still have to execute as a team, and like the other two, LA cant compete with the Celts as a team. Not individulas, but as a team. Look at the balanced scoring of the Celts, LA hasn’t even come close to that kind of balance. And that not even mentioning the Boton oppresive D vs the Lakers non-existant D. Nope Boston will finish them off like they did the Magic and the Cavs, who both, BTW had home court advantage too.

Everyone is sick of the La Floppers, Fisher tried it a couple of time, go no call, and Boston ran over the top of him. His flopping is giving Boston numbers on the break. LA may want to reconsider that, and stay on their feet.

Seriously? Paul Pierce is the biggest faker of all! He not only flops, he actually fakes INJURIES!!! My man Fish does flop or sell his fouls. But he also gets back up like a man. He doesn’t lie down and cry while holding his imaginary injuries…that’s not “The Truth” as he likes to be called. He’s just an actor that plays an NBA Player.

And oh yeah, it did go back to LA (unlike his Game 2 outburst declared) and it will go to 7 with the Lakers holding the gold for the second consecutive year.

One other thing, one of our key guys, Bynum is seriously injured. His pride is keeping him in the game, but he’s way less than 100%. It would be a different story with him healthy. Boston fans can attest to KG being hurt last year and getting knocked out in the second round. So, please don’t act like it’s two teams playing at full strength and Lakers are just inferior.

HAHAHHAHAHA y’all are funny for real and oh yea lets name all the players in the NBA whop are known floppers just for the fun of because apparently flopping is a syndrome and causes a team lose a game…liek grow up you say your man Fisher fakes them and then gets back up that then y’all Lakers fan need to stop the complaining take the lose and let your team prove themselve, if there SOO GOOD they’ll win JK..they won’t becuase they haven’t grasp the instinct or the will Kobe has to burn himself early and 4th quarter comes and they got no more in the tank while Boston keeps going n going n going n going and having big defensive stops!and Kompusure or w/e your name is your going to use the fact that Bynum isnt healthy..ok well how many times have we heard that the Celtics are too OLD, or that Garnett isnt 100% himself with his knees, like this is the NBA FINALS theres no excuse pride yes but if he’s such a liability for his team KEEP HIM OUT this is the stage every player wants to perform in and only the best get to do that and if he’s not at his best and isn’t helping his team then stay on the bench and give the chance to a player that could play.

Wrong. LA has showed everything they have and it’s not enough. It’s no coincidence that Boston was the first to win back to back games in this series. It’s no coincidence they did it while #24 scored 38. It’s no coincidence that Gasol is impotent. Boston has simply figured them out like they did the two best teams in the game when they crushed them. Venue has nothing to do with this. Boston is just the better “TEAM”, thats the key word. And it all comes from smothering defence, hustle and speed that LA cant even begin to copmpete with. Why do you think Kobe just stood there thrashing his arms in the air when Paul Piecre just took the ball from him? Because Boston is the better team, and kobe knows it. It ends tuesday.

You are a retard!! Admit it or not, that was a foul when Pierce ripped the ball out of Kobes arms. One of very many the refs just seemed to have missed. This series has been a joke ever since game four! But enjoy while you can Boston fans. This will end in 7 with the LAKERS holding the championship gold! Gasol was inaffective for one game. Dont look forward to that in games 6 or 7. Celtics will not win the championship on the LAKERS floor!

The refs threw away the game. Lakers should have won. First, Ray Allen’s shot at the end of his shot clock didn’t touch the rim, so it should have been Laker ball. Also, Kobe get’s a rebound with about 30 second’s left, and Paul Peirce obviously fouls him. If they had the ball after Ray Allen airballed, Kobe would have scored. Then we are down by either 2 or 3. When Paul Peirce fouls Kobe on the rebound, it would have been their ball, and Kobe could have scored a 2 or 3, depending on how much they were down by. Then they would have been in overtime, and the game is up for grabs. Those are two major calls that could have changed the game, and the series. The refs are throwing away this series for the Lakers.

it’s almost unbelievable how laker fans can ever complain about the calls especially since the lakers themselves have been on the favorable end of some controversial calls (can anyone figure out why Garnett got an offensive three seconds with only four seconds of the shot clock and only two seconds actually being in the front court?). To think that the refs are one sided is completely dillusional thinking and demonstrates how illogical some people are. Ok laker fans, the refs are out to get you, they want boston to win. It DEFINITELY has NOTHING to do with the way Boston’s defense has completely disrupted the lakers (kobe being the only exception), and mainly forced a powerful team into beooming a one man show. In fact, it seems much more likely that there is a conspiracy/vendetta against the laker team. Or maybe it seems like laker fans are too comfortable hiding behind a bunch of excuses. Oh in 08 we didn’t have bynum so we should have won. Bynum failed to play a complete game four, and then the celtics victory was because of bynum’s absence. Game five rolls around and hey look who’s back, but still has no impact on the outcome? Well maybe you shouldn’t totally rely on length or any one player and embrace the “team” concept, Boston has not had a consistent leading scorer and can pull out wins even when their starters may be a bit off. can you say the same about L.A.? I’m just looking forward to the next batch of excuses. Keep em coming! I seriously never get tired of hearing them

The ugly truth LAKERS’ FANS is that “BOSTON!BOSTON!BOSTON!” is absolutely right..!! I think Boston deserves the title in Game 6 for their TEAM EFFORT…! // And stop crying about refs’ calls that there were many that hurt Boston a lot during the game and series..

i don’t get all this posts as if the championship series is already concluded. so the celtics won back-to-back… so what??? it’s their homecourt for crying out loud! did they win 4 games already?? doesn’t it require 4 wins to be the champ?? c’mon! Lakers are not done yet.. that’s for sure! y’know what.. celtics are in for the toughest last 2 games of the season. They will be STAPLED at the Staples Center… not once, but TWICE!!

Ok this is for Lakers, Lakers Fan, and radux8, do you guys even sit there and actually WATCH THE GAMES?are you guys even BALL PLAYERS?to know the difference between a TEAM concept and a INDIVIDUAL concept, becuase thats exactly whats happenning to the Lakers they got noone else besides Kobe and sometimes Fisher.Stop complaining about ref,why because ur SUPERSTAR threw his arms up y’all believe its a foul,refs are professional let it be if the cal was Kobe ripping the ball out of Pierce hands,not that it would happen, but none of the CELTICS fans would really complain such a call especially in the last seconds of the game…you simply don’t call that how can you think its a foul.Basketball is not a 100% perfect call type pf game if you were both smart so the refs have bad calls going against the Celts has much has the Lakers…Kobe goes to the line just because Ray touches his hand or elbow like are you kidding me!!!and LAkers fan you must be a addict of PS3 or Xbox cause u had that all figured out like u had the game in your head..do you really think it would of happened EXACTLY like you layed it out!all in all its the SAME OLD LAKER fans who complain when they lose but when they win they got the biggest mouth coming at Celtic fans saying we got nothing to saying…Heck with your home court advantage Celtics dont see that they come to play ball,your excuse of they had HC is hysterical cause we beat y’all at home and Percentage and everything was gunning for you guys how you’ve never lost at home and how Phil is 47-0 when winnign game 1 well guess what THE CELTICS CHANGED THAT BABY..CELTICS ALL THE WAY LETS TAKE IT!

hahaha celtics have LA figured out like 5 piece puzzle, its that easy ya cant say lakers werent playing there best because they were, they were playing hard as possible to win that game and kobe hitting 38 and the lakers, sorry FAKERS, still lose, shows something about the LAKERS.
If they didnt have Kobe, they wont be here now, kobe is the main provider of points for most game, on the other hand, celtics have points spread out to all players, even the bench
Game 5
Paul pierce 27
Garnett 17
Rondo 18
ray 12
nate 5-7
baby 8
kendreck 5 wallace had like 6 or something
CELTICS JUST PLAY BETTER. PEROID!

Face it is correct. The LA Loser Fans always crying about calls when they went to the line twice as much as Boston. Artest flops and Rondo get’s a tech WTF!! This is @ big C Your a idiot did you even see the Chicago Bulls vs Detroit in the late 80’s early 90’s Mike Jordan was getting beat up like a penitentary b-ball game. Nothing came easy for MJ. Kobe had 38 points in a lost. Gasol is a pansy and the rest of the LA Fakers are trash. Boston in 6. All LA Faker fans take my words your all on suicide watch along with Artest,Gasol and Pill Jackson. Lose in the 4th Pill not Phil Jackass

This doesn’t even resemble basketball. It looks like a wrestling match for four quarters. This is getting crazy. Doc cries about fouls in the first 2 games and the refs just stop refing. This is how Boston won two years ago. I thought this was the NBA not the playground. He@@, even Jordan could not win with all this shi# going on. It will change when they go back to LA. LA wins in close one in seven.

Both the Cavs and the Magic had HC advantage and were crushed by the Celts after the figured them out, and thats exactly what happened again, Boston figured out LA and took it too them when it counts. Teams win big games no matter what the venue, indivduals star at home. Teams win championships. Indivduals win stats.

Actually Jordan played during a period where defenses were even tougher. I don’t know how you can say this looks like wrestling. to me, this is great stuff. Quite frankly, this is absolutely tame compared to the ECF between the Celtics and Magic. Would you rather we go back to the type of ball we saw in the first three games? With the officials calling every touch foul? I think the physicality is just right. Enough to get the fans fired up but not enough that players are getting hurt.

Astonishing…has anyone looked at the box score? The VISITING Fakers got twice as many FTs as the Celtics and scored 8 more points from them than the Celtics and the Celtics still whipped their whiny butts. Come on, Fakers fans! Aren’t you dying to blame the refs for this abysmal buttkicking? It couldn’t be the utter slapdown the Celtics gave yer pansy team, can it? Well, it was, cause the Celtics got only one more rebound than the Fakers, and with all that going for them AND Kobe’s 38, you’d think the Fakers would’ve put up a fight. Hey Phil, who dat losin in the 4th quarter, huh? Who dat? Why it’s none other than the Phony Genius and his Fakers team. Pretenders all the way. And you all better get used to it. There’s more where that came from. Celtics in 6, same as it ever was. ITS INCREDIBLE HOW SOME CALLED HARDCORE FANS ACTUALLY BELIEVE ONE SUPERSTAR CAN BEAT A TEAM. BASICLY A 1 ON 5. ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD

Do you mean the way that you’re crying now? Let’s face facts, you’re just another Lakers fan-boy who fills like a little b * tch (rightfully so) now that his team is down 3-2. You’re one of the same b * tches who jocked and gestured just a week ago about how the Lakers were going to dominate the series. How’s it feel to be put into your place you whiner?

LOL Jordan had to deal with this kind of defense what the hell are you talking about. You act like this Boston team resembles the Pistonsa nd Knicks of the 90’s. Jordan absorbed more punishment than the whole p***^ Lakers team combined. NBA now-days stands for Nothing But Actors. Look at how Fisher and Gasol flop all over the place and how the hell did Artest end up on the floor by getting shoved by little Rondo? I’ll tell you, he flopped. This is what playoff basketball used to be, no easy layups and hardnose fouls. It’s the Finals, nothing comes easy.

Funny u say that Big C..how typical of you obviously u blame the refs ur a Lakers Fan thats all you do, just liek ur SOO CALLED SUPERSTAR…i mean he complains so much all because he’s never encountered DEFENCE…this is a team he’s playing agaisnt NOT A INDIVIDUAL heck y’all had a hard time against the Thunders and they were defense too and young so watch out now…THIS IS THE LAST YR WE HEAR ANYMORE OF THE FAKERS AND THERE LAME EXCUSE OF A TEAM i’ve never seen so much softness in players its ridiculous!

Are you serious? Is this the first NBA finals you ever watched. They are ALWAYS physical. Not as physical as the Pistons of the 80’s but physical. Physical play in the Finals is like water in a swimming pool. They go together. You sound like you need to be watching the WNBA. Men play ball in the NBA. It’s a physical game. Oh…you never played…LOL. To get blown out by 39 points is why the Lakers lost. They were soft and they soft now. Stop crying and watch some good basketball.